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Health and wellbeing

Our health and wellbeing centres offer you and your family helpful information about medical conditions and illnesses as well as lots of tips to inspire and support you to make better decisions around your lifestyle and wellbeing.

Our health and wellbeing centres offer you and your family helpful information about medical conditions and illnesses as well as lots of tips to inspire and support you to make better decisions around your lifestyle and wellbeing.

having flat feet ↗ or feet that roll inwards (known as over-pronation)

having tight calf muscles, weak ankles, or a tight Achilles tendon (the band of tissue connecting the heel to the calf muscle)

Treating shin splints at home

Shin splints can usually be treated at home. The following may help relieve the pain and allow your legs to heal:

rest – stop the activity that causes your shin splints for at least two to three weeks; you can then start gradually returning to your normal activities

ice – hold an ice pack against your shins (a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel works, too) for around 10 minutes every few hours for the first few days; this helps with pain and swelling

pain relief – take over-the-counter painkillers, such as paracetamol ↗ and ibuprofen ↗, to help relieve the pain if you need to

switch to low-impact activities – using a cross-trainer, cycling ↗, swimming ↗ and yoga ↗ are good ways to keep fit without putting too much pressure on your shins while they heal

You can start to return to your usual activities over the following few weeks once the pain has gone. Take care to increase your activity level gradually, building up the time you spend running or doing sports.

Make sure you follow the steps to prevent shin splints outlined below to reduce the risk of the pain coming back.

When to see your GP

It's a good idea to see your GP if your pain doesn't improve despite the treatments mentioned above.

Your GP may:

ask about your symptoms and examine your legs to try to work out what's causing your pain

refer you for an X-ray ↗ or special scan of your legs – an X-ray may be normal, so a more detailed scan may be needed to help with diagnosis or identify other causes of lower leg pain

refer you to a physiotherapist ↗ – they can assess your injury, show you some exercises, and recommend a suitable programme of activity

refer you to an orthopaedic surgeon or a consultant in sport and exercise medicine

Preventing shin splints

The following measures may help reduce your chances of getting shin splints:

wear trainers with appropriate cushioning and support – it may help to speak to an expert at a specialist running shop for advice if you're buying running shoes ↗ for the first time

run and train on flat, soft surfaces, such as a recreation ground or playing field, whenever possible

introduce any changes to your activity level gradually

mix high-impact exercises like running with low-impact exercises like swimming

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is one of several techniques available to help people with fertility problems have a baby. During IVF, an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory.